and shake hands
by tmcala
Summary: "How come you're bald?" -A series of drabbley first meetings between the illustrious Sector V-
1. 34 Of Smiles and Scowls

**Of Scowls and Smiles~**

Every day before lunch, but after breakfast, Kuki's babysitter took her and her baby sister to the park. Like most children her age, Kuki loved the park, and so, she loved her babysitter. This stiflingly warm summer day was no exception, despite the heat. Kuki was riding on her pink bike as the babysitter pushed Mushi in the stroller. Kuki's mother had put her pigtails especially high on her head that morning so the hair wouldn't brush her neck. However, Kuki's bangs stuck damply to her forehead and they hadn't been outside for even five minutes.

"We can't stay too long today, Kuki," the babysitter warned.

"Okey dokey, artichokie," Kuki giggled. Her bike tires skidded to a stop on the black top. Kuki was glad to see that there were other kids at the park today, even though it was so hot. Her babysitter sat down on a bench and took Mushi out of the stroller. Even Mushi looked uncomfortably hot, and she wasn't even two.

The six year old skipped towards the jungle gym, hoping that hanging upside down would cool her off and get the bangs off her forehead. Kuki sang to herself as she skipped. "Don't take another step, girlie," commanded the voice of a little boy.

Kuki lifted her head up to find a boy standing atop the jungle gym, as if he owned it. She knew this boy; he had been in her class. He was always so cranky, like he needed to take a nap or something. But, the Oriental child was always up for making a new friend. Kuki's eyes lit up like she had just been given the best gift on Earth. "Wally!" she exclaimed.

The boy had blonde hair that was flush to his red face. "Kuki! I didn't know it was you! Wanna be king of this jungle gym with me?"

The dark haired child was about to answer the boy with an energetic "yes", but before she could- "WALLABEE BEATLES! What did I tell you about standing on top of that jungle gym? Your parents would kill me if we had to deal with a broken bone for the second summer in a row!" The long arms of a teenage girl lifted the tiny boy from his spot and placed him next to Kuki on the ground.

Wally kicked a sneakered foot in the woodchips. "Stupid babysitters," he mumbled.

"I love my babysitter!" Kuki told the crabby, Australian child. The comment earned her a deepened scowl which surprisingly made the smile stamped across her face even larger.

Wally didn't want to smile. He was mad. But Kuki just looked _so_ happy. He couldn't help it.

"You're silly," she giggled. "Wanna be friends?"

The short child crossed both his arms over his chest and shuffled off after the skipping girl. Years from then, she would claim their friendship was based on the words, "Got nothin' better to do."

* * *

**A/N: The intention here is that this will be come like a drabble/oneshot collection about the first meetings or friendship beginnings of all our fave five. I think its a cute idea...maybe I'll be able to pull it off. Anyway, hoped you enjoyed the first installation. And, for those of you who read Familiar and my other stuff, I promise this is the last oneshot until I finish Familiar. I have a sentence written...so that's a start **


	2. 12 Be Sharp

**Be Sharp~**

Nigel Uno only colored with crayons that had perfectly sharpened tips. He hated when they were all round or, worst of all, completely flat on top. The five year old dug through the tub of crayons in front of him searching for a purple crayon. Unsurprisingly, there wasn't one. Everyone else in his class just pressed _so_ hard with their crayons.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nigel glanced at the student next to him. The pudgy boy, Hoagie Gilligan. He was one of the kids who pressed too hard on the tips. Nigel could tell by the how close his head was to the page and the way his tongue peeked slightly out of his mouth in concentration. He shook his head at Hoagie and crossed his arms over his sky blue t-shirt in frustration.

He didn't know what to do because he couldn't exactly finish his picture without a purple crayon. Hoagie was drawing airplanes. He always drew airplanes, no matter what the assignment. For this reason, he spent a lot of time with Nigel sitting out of free time. Nigel couldn't help it that his mind often wandered from things his teacher considered 'true'.

Nigel leaned over to his classmate. "Do you have a purple?" he asked in whisper. Journal time was supposed to be _quiet_.

The auburn-haired boy looked up from his drawing in surprise. "There's one right there," Hoagie whispered back, gesturing to the huge tub of crayons sitting before the other boy.

"It's not sharp, thanks to you."

Hoagie's mouth opened in a shocked expression that soon turned to excitement. He stuck a chubby hand into the pocket of his pants, rummaging around for a moment or two past the normal things found in the pocket of a five year old. Finally, he found what he had been searching for and placed it on the table next to Nigel. "What," the British child asked, letting skepticism fill his voice, "is that?"

The chubby boy grinned. "It's a sharpener. I made it." Nigel raised an eyebrow at his companion, sure that regardless of what it _was_ there was no way it actually worked. "Just try it," Hoagie sighed.

Nigel grabbed the foreign object in his hand, turning it around in his fingers. It looked like there was no way it could possibly work. As far as the boy could tell, the supposed 'sharpener' was made out of duct tape and old kitchen utensils. Still, Nigel felt bad turning down Hoagie's delighted stare and he tentatively began ripping the cover off of a purple crayon.

Only moments later, Nigel held a perfectly sharpened purple crayon in his small fist. He marveled at the tip; it look so _new_. Hoagie smiled the widest grin possible at his classmate before pocketing the object again. "How'd you make it?" the smaller boy asked in awe.

Hoagie shrugged, going back to pressing too hard with his crayon. "I just like building stuff."

Tossing this comment around in his head, Nigel stole a glance across the room at his best friend, Abby Lincoln. Abby colored lazily, making long strokes with her crayon. But, Nigel knew, after years of playing with Abby, that she didn't press too hard or too soft. Just right. The boy remembered something his friend had said to him not too long ago, "Well, not everyone does hand to hand combat like Cree. Some kids are nurses or builders or spies."

Builders.

Nigel smiled at the chubby boy next to him, leaning over to pinch him slightly. "Come by the swing set at recess. I want you to meet my friend."

"Roger that," Hoagie replied.

* * *

**A/N: I love little Nigel :D Anyway, this isn't as definitively 'the moment they became besties' as the 3/4 one was, but I like the idea that it may have been the KND that brought 1 and 2 together. I don't know why. I like writing these. It's really fun! I hope you're liking it too. **


	3. 45 NotSoBright

**Not-So-Bright~**

7 year old Abby Lincoln was much too young to be a sector leader and it was clear that everyone felt that way. It was as if they thought she actually _wanted_ this job. All Abby wanted to do was candy hunt and spy. But, she found herself the leader of Sector V all the same.

Although, right now, Sector V was just her. So, by definition, "Sector" V was non-existent and Abby was required to do something about that. Of course, Nigel would be coming soon. His training would be done in a couple weeks, and Hoagie Gilligan not too late after.

But, it did not escape Abby's mind that the three of them created a very lop-sided Sector. Nigel, Abby, and Hoagie were thinkers. Abby could fight, but she liked to spy. Hoagie could fight, but he preferred to fly or build. And Nigel was good at everything, but what the bald boy really liked to do was _talk_. Abby was pretty sure what the group needed was some doers. It wasn't very nice to say, but maybe a couple not-so-bright kids that were athletic and quick.

She didn't expect to find the boy who met her requirements so quickly.

This boy was tiny. A shrimp, a squirt, a small-fry. But Abby was pretty certain that no one called him these things very often. He was taking on three boys, fourth graders Abby was pretty sure, and he was actually almost _winning_. At least holding his own for sure. Abby smiled her easy grin, this boy was Sector V's missing piece.

Wanting to talk to him, the dark skinned girl approached the fight. "I'll get Hoagie Gilligan in here if you fools don't knock it off," Abby threatened, crossing her arms over her chest.

The eyes of all four boys widened. Abby knew that her friend wasn't a threat on his own, it was his position. Being on the force wasn't something to take lightly. Especially when someone was as close to Joe Balooka as Hoagie was. The fourth graders took off and the blonde that Abby had been watching started to as well. She grabbed his arm and swung him around.

"Git off me, ya cruddy girl," the boy whined. _An Australian_, Abby noticed. It made a lot of sense.

"You're a good fighter," Abby said simply.

The boy smirked and glanced up at the much taller girl. "So I've been told."

Abby rolled her eyes, unsure if they really needed another large ego on the team. But, then again, this boy could really fight. Maybe even better than Cree. "You ever consider joining up?"

"Ya mean the Kids Next Door?" the boy sputtered. "Please, I work for myself only."

Selfish, too. Abby had to keep reminding herself that she had never seen a kid fight so well. "You got a name?"

"Wally."

Abby stared Wally down for a moment or two. "You're the kid who got held back last year," she commented, remembering the name.

The blonde blushed and glanced down at his shuffling shoes. "I wouldn't put it like that-"

Abby smiled as she realized she had found her way in. "The KND pull strings all the time," Abby told the smaller boy. "You'd be back with your own grade in no time. Just think about it. Come to a tree house when you change your mind, we'll be waiting."

Abby stalked off, leaving Wally standing in the middle of the hall.

* * *

Three days later, a shrimpy blonde stood at the door of her tree house looking submissive. "When do I start?"

The dark haired girl laughed and ruffled the bowl-shaped hair. "Sport, welcome to the team."

* * *

**A/N: Epic 4/5 Fail by me. I think when I wrote the first paragraph, I had something better in mind. And now, I can't remember it for the world. I think maybe next I'll write some fluff. I haven't written fluff in AGES, all I write any more is like this stuff and angst. Anyway, see ya!**


	4. 13 So Smooth

**So Smooth~**

He was almost done with his training, weeks away from leaving this frozen wasteland and joining Abby at home in the Sector V tree house. When he met her. Recruit Numbuh 3, Kuki Sanban. He had no idea why she wanted to join the KND. The girl was like sunshine. Happiness, summer, and pop songs all rolled up into one 7 year old girl.

And then she spoke to him for the first time. "How come you're bald?"

Nigel wasn't sure how to answer. It wasn't that he didn't know, he _knew_. It was just that nobody had ever asked him that before. Everyone else just skirted around it, making an elephant out of something that shouldn't have been. Since he had arrived at Arctic base, not a single person had said anything to him about his hair. And he was pretty sure that it wasn't because everyone knew. Nigel could always feel questioning eyes whenever he entered a room. Sometimes he just wanted to walk right up to someone and say, "Ask, ask, ask! I know you want to!" But, _of course_, he didn't actually do that because the future Numbuh 1 was much to mature to do that.

Still, he was flustered and startled by Kuki's sudden words. "The Delightful Children cut it off."

Her light eyes grew wide. "Really? Wow."

Nigel nodded his head. Waiting for what _always _came next on the rare occasion that someone asked him. But, Kuki just smiled. She walked alongside the boy for a while through the winding hallways of the base. He wasn't sure if it bothered him that she didn't say she was sorry. It was something he'd grown used to, but, at the same time, what did anyone have to be sorry for.

"It's why I decided to join the kids next door. I'll be done with training soon. I hope to be the leader of Sector V," Nigel continued.

Kuki skipped ahead a bit, the long, long, _long_ black hair flying out like a cape behind her, but then turned back to face him, walking backwards carefully. Toe, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel. "I'm gonna be a nurse. Numbuh 911 says I'm a natural." She frowned slightly then. Underneath her dark bangs he could tell her eyebrows scrunched together in a look of cute thoughtfulness.

Nigel slipped his sunglasses down his nose to glance with his calculating brown eyes at the Asian child. "What, Numbuh 3?"

"Nothing, silly," Kuki giggled. "It's just that I can't picture you with hair."

Nigel smiled at his bubbly new friend. That was even better than any 'sorry' he'd ever gotten. "You know, sometimes I forget what it feels like to have it," he replied.

Kuki skipped forward until she was standing right in front of him. A tiny, pale hand appeared from underneath a green sleeve and reached out, brushing lightly over his smooth head. Nigel closed his eyes under Kuki's touch. "It's so smooth," she murmured. The girl drew her hand back. "I'll see you later, alligator." And she skipped off with a wave.

Nigel Uno was still kind of unsure as to why sunny recruit Numbuh 3 _wanted_ to be in the Kids Next Door. She clearly didn't know much about what they had to face, do, become. Still, Kuki captivated him, and as she skipped off with that hair and that cheeriness, Nigel couldn't tear his eyes from her. He knew after he graduated, he was going to request that she come and join sector V. They would need someone like her.

* * *

**A/N: This is kinda a big deal because:**

**1) I like it  
2) I actually updated this fic/story/collection thing  
3) One of my life goals, to write a 1/3 fic, has been accomplished!**


End file.
